Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. Movie

I'm a big fan of the Ano Hana series, and rate it in my top 2 most tear jerking anime. When I heard that a movie was coming out, which was a gonna be a recap from a different perspective, I was a little apprehensive to say the least, whether or not they would be able to come anywhere close to how good the series was. Let me tell you I wasn't disappointed. Without further adieu let me start the review.

Story 8/10
Now this movie isn't flawless, but none the less very enjoyable. To give you a summary, it basically revisits the major events of the ... first series while adding to it bits and pieces of additional story, giving it a refreshing new feel. Half way through the movie, I was like this is pretty good, but no way is it going to make me cry like the series did. Boy was I wrong! The ending really lets loose those tears even though you know exactly whats going to happen. That just goes to show how well they executed it. The one thing which I didn't really enjoy was the fact that they kept jumping to and fro in the story line, which although has its own charm, still felt a little confusing.

Characters 10/10
From the new parts added giving us a behind the scenes look at what each person felt as they were writing their letters to Menma, it really managed to achieve a level of character development not seen in other recap movies. What most of us would like to see if the original series had continued was probably how the relationships between the characters would change after Menma moved on. Though not much, the movie does touch upon this, and I'm glad it did.

Art 10/10
Wow! Not a lot of series can boast a bright and colorful animation style quite like this series had, and the movies does just as good a job, if not better. The character designs are still flawless, and the kids still just as cute. Nothing to complain about here.

Sound 10/10
Although I did miss the opening and closing music that I loved from the parent series, the background music and voice acting in the movie are impeccable, with not much left to improve on. Moving on...

Enjoyment 9/10
What can I say?I'm not gonna beat around the bush here, I came here looking to board the feels train, and I got a first class ticket.

Overall 9/10
A great new take on a classic. Has its ups and downs but still worth the ride. If your a fan of the series, give it a watch. And just to let you know there's a little bit left after the credits, so be sure to catch that too.

P.S. How'd you like the review? I'd love to hear your feedback both good and bad, or just your thoughts on the movie. Be sure to drop me a message. Thanks

I just watched this film at the Aniplex showing at the downtown independent. There was no reason for this movie to exist other than as a cash grab. The movie added nothing to the series except tacking on that menma was apparently a loner? Way to tack on the typical pseudo character development cliche onto a character that still remains completely shallow. This movie wasted its opportunities of having character development in all sectors. They turn popo into a running gag instead of developing him (granted they did 2 good scenes showing off his character)and Jintan remains just as shallow as menma. They act all ... "buddy like" but we don't even see much bonding. Outside of the shack we see them split off into pairs, never venturing off together outside of 1 shrine; as if to say if there wasn't this dead girl we wouldn't even be friends. To top all of that off they leave anaru where she left off in the series because"friendship", if they were gonna go that route why bother teasing us with a few scenes of her anyway?, really faulty logic there. It really does pain me to write this because i really enjoyed the series but this movie was such a huge let down and was made for the wrong reasons.

I watched this movie when it premiered in downtown LA and I didn't really know what to expect. I had just finished the series which was great timing and the quality of the series gave me high expectations for the movie. However the movie basically just retold the story of the series and added in a few extra scenes. The most entertaining part of the movie was the actual "letters to Menma" scenes. Where all the characters are thinking of what to write. These scenes really reveal the feelings that they didn't communicate in the series, and tells what and how much they've changed since ... Menma appeared to Yadomi. Even though the story was simply being retold, I guess the essence of it is to see how the characters truly felt at that time through them writing their letters and then letting it change your perspective while rewatching the same story from the anime series. All in all, for me, the movie just gave me another perspective to think about the original story with, and made the story that much more meaningful and enjoyable.

AnoHana: Letters to Menma follows in the tradition of countless other anime movies before it - that is, it functions mostly as a recap of the original series with some new scenes sprinkled throughout.

If you've seen the original anime (and if you haven't go watch it right now before you read this review), then you're familiar with the story and it's resolution, so I'll spare the summary. The actual movie itself takes place roughly a year after Menma's wish has been granted, and catches up with the rest of the Super Peace Busters as they gather together to write their own letters to Menma, sharing ... their thoughts and feelings about what she meant to them and how they're doing now that she's gone.

Using this premise, the show switches back and forth between three different perspectives. The first of these are scenes from when the Super Peace Busters were children, and how they welcomed Menma to their group and played around. From there, we follow the characters writing their letters in the present, preparing for a celebration of sorts for their departed friend. And using that as a springboard, we see flashbacks to events from the actual show, as the process of writing the letters brings them back to the surface.

The problem with the movie is not so much anything to do with it's characters, story, poor writing, or what have you. Simply put, it suffers from a lack of new content - while maybe half the movie features new scenes (both in the show's present and past), the greater part of it consists of flashbacks and scenes from the original anime. Put together with how often the perspective changes, the result often feels disjointed and slightly unfocused.

What AnoHana: Letters to Menma does well, however, is provide a little more closure for fans of the anime. Getting to see the Super Peace Busters playing around as children was priceless, and certain scenes even add even more emotional gravitas to the show's powerful ending. That's a tricky feat for something as well written and self-contained as AnoHana - one wrong move and you risk looking revisionist or retroactively harming the story's original impact. And while there wasn't much development during the scenes set in the present, getting to catch up with the characters a year later felt a little like revisiting old friends and was rewarding in it's own way.

When all is said and done, this is a good movie. It's not without it's problems, and it's not one you should watch without seeing the show first, but it serves nicely as a sort of 'where are they now' and does a fine job of adding additional back story without damaging the integrity of the original show. If you're already a fan of the show, there's nothing you can lose from watching this movie.

Review for Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai.Movie
==============================================
The low score is because of my personal experience of the movie

If you have just completed watching the anime,I don't recommend watching this, I have watched the complete season of Ano Hana over the coarse of a couple days, and after watched this movie, This is my mistake for not reading the synopsis.

This movie is essentially retelling the important events of the season. It may be a great conclusion to the story but watching it with the season still fresh in mind means watching scenes you have already seen over again.
Honestly ... most of this movie are scenes from the main season.

But if you enjoyed the season enough to want to sit through that then go ahead otherwise I recommend watching this a few weeks/months/year(s) or after watching a couple seasons of something else.

As I have completed the Anohana series, this movie is more or less like a retelling of the story and the chronological order of the developments of each character. Very well structured for a recap but this does not have what it takes to become a movie as you would expect something more or extra from it.

The movie takes place right after the events of the series in which the characters carry on with their lives but are reunited and their bonds slowly but surely repairing to become a lifelong friendship. This movie serves as a sort of clarification of what the characters used ... to think, are thinking and what they strive for moving forward.

All in all, in my opinion this movie was just a review and an epilogue to this lovable series. Its nice to see how well this story actually flowed and finally how the final chapter of this story was completed. This is actually one of the few series that actually bears a rather glaring resemblance of life in its own and the possible future of attempting something not thought possible, in this case moving on. This movie is certainly worth your while if you have completed the series first at least and it certainly welcomes newcomers to the series as well.

Dont waste your time, this movie should not exist, you must have to see the anime because that show all you wanna see, in this movie you can even skip all the memories of the characters and all kind stuff and only see the final scene to cry a little bit and then cry again...
The movie results in just a copypaste of the anime scenes, i repeat, dont waste your time, just skip to the final scene and you dont lose anything

History 8/10
Like anime
Art 8/10
Like anime
Sound 8/10
Like anime
Characters 8/10
... Like anime
Enjoyment -27/10
You do not enjoy, you already saw everything

1/10

Finally I watched this movie and I've just to say that I'm really glad about.
Sayonara Menma, but she'll always be in our hearts. And somehow I'm glad about I could write my first (MAL) review about it. :3

I didn't think that this movie'll impress me that much, because I already knew the TV Serie. It's worth it even when you saw the serie. The producers (Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, Aniplex of America) did a really good job on it. But I think, it would be the best if you watch the movie after you've seen the serie, too. It'll give it more depth. (Doesn't mean ... that it won't work without the serie. ;))

I would give the movie at every point 10/10 (except sound), but I've made the character rating a bit lower, because there's not much room to give more in the movie itself, so if you've seen the serie before it'll be a great plus.

Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day tells the tale of 6 childhood friends and a tragic event that happened in the past. The series itself was great and gave the audience closure, but can the same be said about the movie? let's see, I'll try my best to give you guys an outlook of what this film is about and if it's worth watching, without giving away any spoilers.

Story: The synopsis implies that the film is a recap, but that isn't entirely true. I would say that roughly half, if not a bit more of the film contains new footage never before seen in ... the animated series. The directors did a great job of incorporating the new footage with flashbacks from the animated series in order to retell the story of Meiko Honma (Menma) in a way that lets the viewer enjoy the nostalgic reappearance of their beloved characters. The story takes place roughly a summer after the series concluded, and is mainly about how the characters coped with Menma's second departure.

Art: The film had exceptional art, but could've been slightly better. The quality of the animation is comparable to the TV series, since they had to reuse footage for flashbacks.

Sound: The sound was good, but more importantly, the voice acting for the characters was incredible. You could feel the wide range of emotions from the characters through the seiyuus which made the show easier to sympathize with.

Character: The characterization in this film was done incredibly well. In only 95 minutes the film was able to convey the feelings each character had towards themselves and towards Menma. All of the characters can be sympathized with, and all of them had just about equal screen time.

Enjoyment: The film was enjoyable, although keep in mind that the story is roughly the same.

Overall: Overall I would suggest anyone who has the free time to watch the movie. Should you watch this film without watching the series? definitely not. You wouldn't get the same enjoyment or feels from the original series. This is a movie targeted towards people who have seen the series and want a little more closure past the ending of the animated series.

Do you ever look back on a memory of something that changed you somehow? This is what I see when I look at this movie. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai The Movie is the return to the tear-jerker series that is AnoHana.

I would not recommend watching this movie without first watching the series. This is the spoiler warning.

Menma, someone who taken away from our characters has passed on and this is the movie depicting what happens after. You return to the cast one year after the incident where they celebrate the anniversary of her passing. They each write letters ... depicting how that summer changed them, and helped them. The story is a recap of the series with some added in bonuses. We see some of their childhood and the inclusion of Menma to the "Super Peace Busters". I tried hard not to let this movie move me but I failed. The story is executed near perfectly, however it really relies on the fact that you have to watch the series.

The art is wonderful. The shadows, the colors, the animation are all well done. The sound is great. I may not know how to speak the Japanese language but you can really feel the emotion in the characters voices, and the music adds a nice touch to what is going on in any scene.

The characters are great, but this is a part that heavily relies on knowing the series prior. The movie brings some subtext to the development these characters had and, for the movie it works. Everyone is as relatable in their issue regarding Menma and you feel for the cast.

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie from beginning to end. It will take any fan to a trip down memory lane. If you're in any way like me or the many others who enjoyed this movie I would highly recommend it, but watch the series first. I give this movie a 9/10.

NO SPOILER REVIEW
This is a very unique review format but it fits for movies like these. Good thing is I'm not writing paragraphs

Personal Nickname:
Anohana the Afterstory

Note:
80% Recap and 20% New Content. They could have done better.

Expectation Met Value: 4/5 (it's a recap so my expectations were low so they were easily met)
...
New Content Value: 3/5 (expected something more to tie the afterstory)

Did you cry?: They had about 3 feels trigger and they cut out some parts in the end. This caused me to just be eye watery but no tears was dropped sadly. But someone next to me was crying too good.

Was it worth it?: Every penny, saw some friends cry.

Overall Rating: Movie = 8/10, Original Anime = 9/10, Overall Series: 9/10

It is just mainly telling you what happened in anime so it disappointed me.

If I am not wrong about 60% of the time it is reflashing anime scene and 20% of the time talking about them writing the letter for her... so there aren't much thing actually happened in the movie.

I personally suggest not to watch the movie right after finishing the anime. Watch it when you feel like remembering the tv series so it wont be so boring.

When I tapped into the movie I was expecting something like menma come back once again and all of them have a good talk with her or ... the life of 5 of them after menma left [although movie is the life of them but they didn't talk much about it so I am disappointed...]

Rating this 5 but doesn't mean it is not good...it is just disappointing me

Story: 9
Art: 10
Sound: 9.5
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 9

Anohana (episodes) is one of the shows that i'm afraid to watch all over again. I'm scared to experience the ineffable sadness i first experienced watching it.
The movie version came out, which is basically the epilogue of what happened after the whole adventure, a story of how those friends make an effort to be close again. Even though the movie is not as sad as the episodes, it does add to the uplifting feelings and serves a better closure which seems as the new opening for the characters.
The movie started off with Jintan running on the street in ... the middle of the night to the secret base with Menma on his back, so Menma could give everyone her proper goodbye. It barely even started, and i already felt the tightness in my throat. That feeling i was so scared of experiencing, it happened again. The movie also shows the lives of the characters from their point of views. How Menma's appearance affected them and how her disappearance changed them.
A lot of people say that the idea of this movie is great, but the movie itself doesn't live up to it's standard it first created. And i disagree. Maybe it doesn't live up to their expectations, but the Anohana episodes triggered my heart strings one after another, and so does the movie.

As easy as this, if you want to know something new about the series, you are not gonna get anything new in this movie, but if you would like to watch a recap of the series then this is a good movie for you,

The movie doesnt really add anything to the story, it has great art, sound, and the characters are kind of the same, you discover that menma was kind of a loner but thats probably the only thing new in this movie,

I didnt enjoy it that much because I was expecting more new stuff and I hate recaps, but I guess is ... up to you :D.

When I heard the news of a movie, You do not know how joyed I was. It was in public and embarrassing as all can be. I direly waited and waited to finally see the movie. I just finished it, almost a year after it was release. I don't know, I don't know if this should have been made. Through the whole thing I was waiting to ball my eyes out... NOPE... Well you can hate me all you want for telling it how it is. This being made should not have been a movie. It is 90 minutes the first 50 or so minutes ... DRAG ON AND ON... BUT the last 30ish minutes made me ball my eyes out. There was a scene and BOOM waterfalls. My eyes are just now dying up from the waterfall show. This was great don't get me wrong, but I just don't think they should have done this. It is always a thin line to do something like this with an anime that has a clear cut ending. Although, the thin line present, it is balancing very very carefully. It borders like people wanting a second season of Angel Beats and Air Gear if you understand me. Air Gear being YES SECOND SEASON, and Angel Beats would be ruined. Although this is great and makes you create your own lake, I strongly advise to maybe just... Leave it to your imagination....

It is almost mandatory watch the TV Series firs for then see the movie.
Ano Ana talks about the afterlife, a very difficult subject to approach that appeals to everyone, the author was well in this regard, knew how to create history according to the possibility to occur in real life (I like that, the closer the reality is the best anime).
For those who watched the TV series, may have noticed that the characters mature in the movie, are much more determined and some even with a new look.
The artistic part there are some scenarios errors a slight difference between TV series and the movie, but ... we must consider the factor "the thing change over time".
As in TV serie the characters and the scenery are rich in details, it's good, constantly see new scenes interspersed with flashback of TV serie (It was well thought), part of the soundtrack was very good, but could have added more melancholy themes for more emotion and impact.
Featured for clímax of the movie, that soundtrack and the scene combined perfectly, the scene was perfect harmony, enough to fill your eyes with tears...
Ano Ana is a series that should be part of your collection, with beautiful history and charismatic characters, make the series one of the best works ever released.
I give prominence for its fluidity, you can watch over and over again and not get bored watching and commoved.
I confess that there is no way not be comoved by this story, even the strongest surely fill your eyes with tears.

I loved the Anohana series. It was amazing.

This movie was good. It had one glaring problem, it had almost 0 new content. If you have watched the show, you can legit skip this and go on.

I feel like they rushed the last episode and this movie was meant to be a replacement for the last episode cuz I also agree they rushed the last episode.

What I thought is that there would be completely new content in this movie.

This is basically retelling the last episode with extended scenes, and at least a quarter of the movie was recollections of past when menma was alive

...
All in all it was alright albeit very boring for me.

Last episode I felt emotional and had tears.
This one? No since I knew what would happen.

I was a little confused as the scene I cried on was when they all gathered at the temple laughing and crying.

This movie they barely touched on that scene, hell they removed 90% of that scene.

So I am confused on the purpose of this movie.

Animation is great.

Music is also good

all in all 5/10.
I gacve the show a 8/10 but this a 5 since i am confused on the purpose of this movie. Hell Ill take more Anohana but this is not really adding anything.

Thanks!
-CyanCheetah

This movie is mostly a a remix of Anohana with maybe 30 mins new content mostly spread around so you can't easily just skip all the reused scenes. This movie is terrible to watch immediately after finishing the series, give it a few months or even a year then watch it if at all.

The new content was fine, can't complain, more of the usual, tied off a couple threads but nothing worth suffering through 1hr of stuff you JUST finished watching.

Art was the same quality which is obviously shoddy for a movie but it is no surprise since otherwise the reused footage would look out ... of place.

The AnoHana movie is stuck in-between being a recap, an OVA that expands on details the series could not find the time to cover, and an epilogue. The last of these is where the movie had the most potential and where it is hurt the most. It is difficult to really call this a movie since it does not follow the structure of one, at least traditionally. The emotional "climax" of the movie is showing the finale of the series again. I can understand why they attempted to make this a film despite trying three things at once; it was probably the only way to ... release their work and effectively generate revenue from it. Yet it undeniably suffers from it, feeling like it really should be split into a compilation movie and an epilogue OVA.

I think the fact that there is some material dealing with the aftermath of Menma's return is fantastic. Not just in the usual way of being attached to the character and wanting to see more of their lives. As I said in my review of the AnoHana series, I think the real optimistic and miraculous aspect of it is the Super Peace Busters reuniting. That is the real wish fulfilment part us friends who have been hurt and torn apart returning together and regaining their friendship. An epilogue one year later is perfect to follow up on that theme, especially since the series' finale was just the start of their journey to reconcile and move on. The film is excellent at showing us the kind of friendships they could have had and that they are now developing. Tsuruko and Anaru have more of a bond, being in similar positions with their love life. Tsuruko also gets more characterisation in that she is more expressive with her feelings about her friends, even if it takes the form of a painting. Jintan has finally been able to move on and has a more cordial relationship with Yukiatsu. Naturally, it also shows some of the limitations of how far their relationships have progressed without further work. Notably, Anaru still has not entirely worked through how she feels about Jintan or how that affects both their relationships with Menma.

In this sense, the movie falls very short since it evapourates many potential lingering conflicts within the group. It is understandable since taking a negative tone against the show's spirit, yet it also undercuts a lot of the exploration they could do about grief and its fall out. Anaru and Yukiatsu's chemistry as friends is still not well developed or explored. Let alone examined as the next potential flashpoint within the group. It would have been an excellent opportunity to show their growth and recovery as friends by being able to work through a minor issue in the wake of Menma's farewell. Tsuruko is still mainly only connected to both of them instead of the entire group. Perhaps the worst affected is Poppo, who falls outside most of the group dynamics. There is no further exploration of how he is handling the trauma of actually witnessing Menma's death. The plot device of writing letters to Menma is an effective means of creating an emotional throughline and as a narrative tool. However, it is also not fully utilised since it means different things to different characters. Everyone, except perhaps Jintan who interacted the most with Menma's ghost, definitely has more things to say to her. Much of the emotional resolution in the series happens between them without her presence. Most of the series also only digs deep into why they are so affected by her death but not on how they can resolve the conflict it causes between the remaining members. The lack of addressing this is another spectacularly wasted opportunity. Though this is starting to go well beyond what the movie's scope clearly intends to be about.

As much as it pains me to write, Menma should not have been an active component of the story anymore. Her inclusion without interacting with the rest of her friends any longer breaks up both the movie's pacing and focus. Flashbacks to her perspective of their time together, as meaningful as it was, should have been a separate work. They were a welcomed addition that fleshed out her character more but also felt out of place in an epilogue film. It would have been better to create a short OVA covering what the Super Peace Busters means to Menma, both from her perspective as a child and later on as a ghost. The series does gloss this over, admittedly using Menma as more of a plot catalyst than a character. Though in their defence, she is deceased and, logically, she can no longer grow as a character, at least in a conventional sense. At the same time, these elements would not have fit into a compilation film's run time. Menma's perspective still distinctly detracts from the movie's cohesion as it stands and makes it hard to rate objectively. Menma's outlook is still effective at eliciting emotions, and it is structured rationally. Yet it also feels disjointed and not excelling in any area.

Overall, I have to give the AnoHana movie a 7. It has so much missed potential and dissonant parts that it is hard to give it more without throwing objectivity out the window. It would have been better served as just a compilation movie, despite how attractive the additional information it provides is. It is a pity we could not get a film or series dealing with the aftermath of AnoHana and how the Super Peace Busters deal with the now just metaphorical ghost of Menma in their rekindled relationships. None the less, this is at the very least a sufficient epilogue.

I know there are a lot of people complaining that this was mostly a recap, but I for one appreciated that aspect of the movie. It's been over a year since I finished AnoHana the series, so I loved that the movie helped fill in all the gaps in my memory regarding what happened in the series. The thing I loved most about this beautiful anime was how moving it was...that quality remains in the film, as I was moved to tears more than once. 10/10. RIP Menma!